Today, we could not decide on what to order and realizing that we are the voting system experts, we thought it would be great to cast votes before making any decision. Different systems can get different winners and this was a great opportunity to test their fairness and impact.

On March 14th and 21st, French voters elected their 26 regional councils. A main point of interest, beyond the results, is how the semi-proportional system used for the regional elections distorts the electoral dynamics, and how well represented women are.

This blog series on the 2010 Iraqi parliamentary elections is all about how Iraq has been working on building an inclusive, fair voting system. So far, the main focus has been on the Iraqi open-list form of proportional representation (PR), designed to overcome sectarian rifts and stabilize the country. It is now about time to take a closer look at women’s role in the Iraqi electoral process.

A couple of weeks ago, the Colombian Constitutional Court rejected legislation calling for a referendum that would have increased presidential term limits from two to three terms. This decision prevents President Alvaro Uribe from running for a third straight term in office and sends a strong signal to the international community: the burgeoning Colombian democracy won’t be part of the autocratic wave in South America.

Yesterday, about 18.9 million eligible Iraqis had the opportunity to elect their 325-member Council of Representatives through an open-list proportional system. Counting is now underway and the first partial results could be released later this week. In the meantime, there is a lot to be said about how this Iraqi election is impacting the country’s political future.

This Sunday, Iraq will elect its parliament for the third time in five years. For the first time, they will use an “open” list proportional system, which is seen as a major step to cement Iraqi democracy.

Yesterday, the Maryland Senate Education, Health & Environmental Committee held a public hearing on several election bills. FairVote’s Right to Vote Director Adam Fogel testified in favor of two of the bills that are sponsored by Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-20): - SB 292, which will set a uniform voter registration age of 16 - SB 293, which will establish a permanent absentee ballot list.